Single Design Moves That Make All the Difference

Like you, I really enjoy browsing the homes featured on Houzz. There’s always a fresh idea, an important old idea restated or a spectacular new design to revel in. But one of my favorite things to do while I browse is to note the rooms where one thing —one imaginative stroke — makes all the difference. It might be an accessory, a paint color or a piece of furniture. But if it were not in that room, the look would be substantially diminished.

Let’s take a glimpse at some of these, with the hope that you’ll gain new vision for how to greatly enhance a space with simply one addition.

Think about this room without the bold wall color. Wow. Can you picture it being blander and more conventional?

Paint is one thing that can make or break a room. I seriously love paint! It is relatively inexpensive, the color options are almost infinite, and it is not overwhelming to change if you tire of it or it doesn’t work.


The one addition that makes a room special does not have to be a permanent fixture. It can change with your whim or with the season. Imagine this office without that green foliage on the desk. The combination of the lime-green color and the feathery texture adds an element that would be sorely missed.


Imagine this room without … well, I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count. Yes, it’s that absolutely screaming pink chair. A more sedate chair would not necessarily be bad, but this one is first-rate.


Accessories can kick up a space several notches and tell a story at the same time. Imagine this wood nook without Honest Abe. That simple but so very meaningful portrait takes the space from worker bee to extraordinary. I imagine an oblique nod to this great president’s humble beginnings, where splitting wood into fence rails was a primary occupation. And I hear the unspoken reminder to neither spurn hard work nor give up on your dreams.


Paint is the thing in this kitchen. The soft sage color on the bottom cabinets brings such warmth and interest, and elevates this already lovely kitchen.


This would have been a really good room design even with a solid rug or wall-to-wall carpeting. But the completely captivating and seemingly “other” graphic design of this rug is over-the-top great.


What do you think the one thing in this room is? The wallpaper? The rope ball? The coffee table–ottoman?

As creative as the wallpaper and the rope ball are, my vote goes to the coffee table. That large splash of blue lifts the other good elements into greatness.


This living room has really good ingredients as well. The black and white scheme is crisp and inviting, and the furniture pieces are interesting and varied. But the repetition of the rug’s black and white stripe on the throw pillows (albeit on a smaller scale) is the element that transforms this room.


What if this room had a vanilla-flavored chandelier rather than this multisided metal wonder? Lighting can be just the special something that will do more than just complete your room.

Those lime-colored curtains are a pretty spectacular ingredient in this room’s design as well.


Finally, I can’t resist. This is a such a lovely and inviting room, with its muted color scheme, its mix of textures and its comfy throw. But what makes this room? The puppy!

More: Bring in da Funk: How Humble Touches Give a Home Soul

URL: Single Design Moves That Make All the Difference http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-22850.html